Toronto Confirms Condo Amenities May Remain Open

There has been much debate and conflicting information on the applicability of the Step 2 lockdown measures to residential condominium amenities since they were announced on January 3 and went into effect on January 5.

 The City of Toronto has now confirmed the comments in our newsflashes of January 4 and January 7 that these new measures do not apply to private residential condominium amenity use. The City’s updated online guidance offers several key takeaways:

• Residential condominiums may keep their sports and recreational amenities open, but only for private use by residents, not by visitors or other members of the public. The Provincial closure requirements do not apply to this private use, but condominiums must ensure that gathering limits (currently max. 5 people) and all other applicable safety measures are followed.

• Furthermore, condominiums can enact additional safety measures and restrictions to meet the health and safety goals of their communities.

• Regardless, Toronto Public Health strongly recommends that all condominiums close non-essential common areas such as gyms, pools, spas (whirlpool, hot tubs), playrooms and other high-traffic areas.

While this guidance applies only to Toronto, it conforms with the Province’s comments to our office last week. Of course, each condominium should look to the guidance of its own municipality and local health unit.